Lake Atlantis
by rubycaspar
Summary: AU. The team and co are teenagers spending the summer at Lake Atlantis summer camp, and all have to team up in a tournament against competing camps. Multiple pairings.
1. Registering

Disclaimer – I own none of the Stargate franchise. 

Okay, I know what you're going to say. And I agree, I really do – _another _WIP? WTH! But this got into my head and wouldn't leave… so here's the first chapter. It was originally going to be a lot longer, but here seemed like a good place to end it. This story is going to be comprised of lots of short chapters, which should make updating a lot easier than trying to finish my usual long and cumbersome chapters. 

Anyway, this story is complete and utter AU, and has no spoilers except for the names of people and very vague references that you will only get if you've seen the episode in question. 

_**Chapter One – **__**Registering**_

"I swear to God, Rodney – if you spray that thing _one more time_…"

Rodney McKay froze, his finger poised over the nozzle of a can of insect repellent, and glared at the boy who had spoken, John Sheppard. 

"There are _bugs_," he retorted. 

John glared right back at him. "I think the other can you _used up _twenty minutes ago will stave them off," he said. 

Rodney scowled but obediently tucked the can of bug spray back into the side of his rucksack. They continued up the dirt path in silence for a few seconds before Rodney suddenly ducked, trying to avoid a bug that John had no doubt was entirely in his friend's imagination. 

"I am so gonna die out here!" Rodney moaned. 

John rolled his eyes. "Quit your whining Rodney," he said. "You didn't have to come."

As John knew he would, Rodney exploded. "Yes, yes I did!" He exclaimed. "After you spent _two hours_ going on to my dad about how great summer camp was going to be – you _knew _he'd send me too!" 

John managed to hide his smirk, but only just. It had been a low blow, to do that to his friend, but Rodney had been annoying the hell out of him for two days straight, teasing him about how he'd decided to go to camp. So, John had got even by extolling the virtues of a summer at Lake Atlantis to Mr McKay – as Rodney said, he'd known exactly what the man would do. 

It had seemed like a good idea at the time. Now though, in the middle of a wood with just Rodney and his 40 litres of bug spray for company, John wasn't so sure. 

The chauffeur had dropped John and Rodney off at the entrance to Lake Atlantis Summer Camp for Boys, leaving them to hike up the dirt road with their belongings. John was fine – he had a large duffel bag that could be carried on his back – but Rodney had not only a large duffel, but two smaller rucksacks and a huge sports equipment bag that John knew was filled with anything but. After about ten metres, John had known that leaving Rodney to attempt to carry all of his own luggage was going to get them nowhere, so John had one of his rucksacks on one shoulder and was carrying one handle of the sports bag. In this way they made their way slowly up the road, Rodney breathing heavily and complaining in a low voice that John ignored. Luckily, they only had to jump out of the way of a car once. 

It took them about half an hour to get to the end of the road, and by then even John was out of breath. It ended very suddenly – they turned a corner and suddenly there was a small car park in front of them, and beyond that, the lake. The boys immediately set down the sports bag, sighing with relief. 

Atlantis Lake, John knew, was shaped kind of like a peanut, and the boys' camp was at one end of it, so the lake was much longer than it was wide from their perspective. The girls' camp was set at the other end of the lake, and hidden from view by the peninsula of wooded land on the left. 

Next to the car park, on their right, was a large collection of log cabins. They were all quite small, though one huge cabin dominated the landscape, set in the middle of the smaller ones. 

John elbowed Rodney and nodded to the large cabin. "Come on, let's go register," he said. 

Rodney didn't look happy about picking up the bag again, and John bit his tongue to stop himself telling him that it was his own stupid fault for packing so much. There was very little point in telling him he had himself to blame. It never worked with Rodney. 

There were more people around now – boys from the age of fourteen upwards were milling around, dragging bags into cabins and trying to shake off their tearful parents. 

The chauffeur had barely nodded to John and Rodney. 

John dumped his bag in a pile next to the cabin door, but Rodney refused to be parted from any of his belongings, so John swung the sports bag onto his shoulder and the two of them walked in. It was a long, low hall with two huge tables, benches running along either side of them. Another, smaller table was at the other end of the hall, and a small group was gathered around it. John and Rodney went and joined the short queue. 

When they reached the table, they found two men sitting behind stacks of papers. One of them, a middle-aged man with hardly any hair, was looking pretty harassed. The other, a slightly younger black man (also with no hair), was leaning back in his chair, seemingly completely at ease. They were both wearing black Lake Atlantis t-shirts, with the name of the camp and the emblem (a flying horse in a kind of triangle) on them. 

"Hi and welcome to Lake Atlantis," said the second man, smiling at them both. "I'm your host, Abe Ellis, and this is my lovely assistant, the very talented Steve Caldwell. Let's play our game."

John grinned, liking the man at once. 

Caldwell rolled his eyes. "Names?" He asked. 

"John Sheppard and Rodney McKay," answered John. 

Caldwell scanned a list on a clipboard. "Sheppard… you're in cabin 23," he said. "And McKay… cabin 19."

"We're not together?" McKay asked, sounding surprised. John wasn't that surprised; he knew that most camps arranged accommodation randomly. But poor Rodney sounded pretty worried, and for a moment John wished that they were sharing a cabin. 

Only for a moment though. 

"No, you're not – don't worry though, you'll see plenty of each other during the day," said Caldwell.

_Swell._

"Dinner and orientation is in an hour – until then, just get settled down into your cabins and unwind," said Caldwell. 

John nodded, and turned to the exit. "Come on, Rodney, let's go find our –"

"But – isn't there any way we can move someone and let us – "

John couldn't believe what he was hearing, and he was starting to get embarrassed now. "_Drop it Rodney_," he said firmly. 

Rodney rounded on him then. "Look, it's your fault that I'm stuck in this hellhole for the next two months – the least you can do is prevent me getting stuck with some stupid jock asshead who – "

"That's enough!" Ellis rose to his feet so quickly John hadn't even seen him move, and the look on his face had changed from friendly and relaxed to ferocious. John took a step back, but Rodney was either too annoyed or too dumb to realise he was in trouble. 

"Rooms are allocated randomly at Lake Atlantis and we are not prone to changing accommodation arrangements on the whims of sixteen-year-old boys," said Ellis, glaring at Rodney. 

John shook his head silently. _Don't say it, don't say it…_

"I'm seventeen," said Rodney, glaring right back. 

_You just had to say it, didn't you?_

"Act like it," barked Ellis. 

Rodney stood his ground, glaring at Ellis, and John had to grab him by the elbow and physically drag him away to get him to move. Luckily they had been the only people in the cabin except Ellis and Caldwell, and no one else had witnessed Rodney's little outburst. 

"Can you believe that guy?" Rodney said indignantly as soon as they were out of earshot. 

John rolled his eyes. "You did call his camp a hellhole," he said, trying to be reasonable. He thought that Ellis may have overreacted a bit, but then Rodney hadn't been a bundle of fun either. 

John retrieved his bag and he and Rodney wandered off in search of their cabins. There didn't seem to be any logical order as to how the cabins were set out – the large cabin was in the middle, and the rest just kind of spread out around it. Each cabin was the same – raised a little on stilts a couple of feet high and with wooden steps leading up to the front door, which were clearly marked with bright blue numbers. They quickly found cabin 19, and John could see his cabin about twenty feet away. 

He set down Rodney's bags. "Okay, I'll see you in an hour then," he said. Rodney just scowled and John, not taking it personally, patted him on the shoulder and strode away. 

John headed straight for his cabin, wondering what his roommate would be like. Rodney's tirade had got him thinking – because you only shared with one person, it would make the summer pretty crap if you didn't get on with them. Maybe Rodney had the right idea, wanting to share – better the devil you know, after all. 

But there was no point thinking like that, and John jumped up the front steps of cabin 23 determined to make the most of whatever situation presented itself this summer. 

_TBC – next up, John meets his roomie. _


	2. Unpacking

Thanks for the feedback – chapter three should be up shortly. 

Let me know what you think of this chapter! 

_**Chapter Two – Unpacking**_

John pushed the door of cabin 23 open and stepped over the threshold. It was a simple, square room, with two windows on opposite walls. These were hung with linen blinds. There were two wooden beds, each with a small bedside table and a large trunk at the foot of them, and two armchairs either side of the door. 

Oh, and a boy about the same age as John stretched out on one of the beds. 

"Hey," said John as the boy raised his head off the pillow and looked at him. 

"Hey," he replied. 

John walked further into the cabin and dropped his bag onto the spare bed. Then he walked over to the other boy, extending his hand. "I'm John Sheppard," he said. 

The boy propped himself up on one elbow and shook his hand. He had a very strong grip. "Ronon Dex," he said. 

"Nice to meet you." 

Ronon just let go of his hand and lay back down. John walked back over to his bed, searching around for something to say. Ronon certainly didn't _look _like the quiet, retiring type – he wore torn jeans, an elbow-length t-shirt with a huge tropical flower on the front, beads round his neck and his hair was in dreadlocks. Really long dreadlocks. He must have started growing them when he was five. 

John just had to get him talking. 

"So, when did you arrive?" He asked. 

"This morning." Nothing else. John nodded, not letting the shortness of his answer get to him. Ronon didn't sound annoyed by the questions – he just didn't have anything else to say about the subject. Fair enough. 

"I only just got here – the drive was a _nightmare_," said John. And it had been – four hours of Rodney checking and re-checking his list of 'survival supplies', as he called them. 

John opened his bag and pulled out the few posters he'd packed – they weren't too creased, which was good. There was a cork noticeboard above the head of his bed, and John unrolled his Johnny Cash poster and started to pin it up. 

"How old are you?" He asked Ronon as he did so. 

"Seventeen."

"Me too – I think they put people together by age," said John. 

He finished putting up the poster and stepped back to admire his work. It was wonky, put who the hell cared? He quickly put up his other, smaller posters – one of famous WWII fighter planes, and another a picture of him with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Super Bowl team when he twelve, that he'd had blown up into a poster. 

John looked over at Ronon when he'd finished and saw that the guy was eyeing his Johnny Cash poster with a little bit of a smirk, but the small sign of emotion disappeared very quickly. It was then that John noticed that Ronon too had put up some pictures – one was of a beach, and the other of a big house surrounded by palm trees on the edge of a beach that looked like it might be the same one. 

"Is that your house?" John asked, nodding to the photo. 

Ronon twisted his neck round to look at the picture, and smiled. It was a small smile, but a smile nonetheless. "Yeah," he said. 

"Nice," said John. "Where is it?" 

"Oahu," said Ronon. "It's right on the beach – my great-grandfather started to build it seventy years ago, and then my grand-dad and dad both added to it so it just keeps growing. It faces East, so we get the sunrise every day." 

_Wow. Someone likes his house_. "Sounds amazing," said John. And it did – he lived in a pretty old house, but it sure as hell hadn't been built by his great-grandfather. 

"Where do you live?" Asked Ronon, sitting up. 

_What time of year? _John decided to forego the sarcastic response and embrace the fact that Ronon was asking a question at last. 

"San Francisco, mostly," John replied. It's where he went to school, and his mom was from there. "It's a great city, but I guess it's a far cry from living on a beach in Hawaii." 

Ronon smiled again and from then on, the conversation flowed. John had been to Hawaii enough times to have enough questions to ask, and once the subject got onto surfing, John forgot that Ronon had ever been hard to talk to – here was someone who loved surfing as much as he did. Ronon was actually very easy to talk to once you got him started, and John decided that he had lucked out on his roommate. 

He wondered if Rodney was doing quite as well with his. 

A gong sounded out of nowhere, followed by an announcement that it was time for dinner. John was surprised – they had been talking for a whole hour! 

"Great I'm starving," said Ronon, standing up. John hadn't appreciated until that moment just how tall he was – well over six feet. John wasn't exactly _short_, but he felt a bit dwarfed by this guy. 

"Yeah me too," said John, realising that it was true. "Let's go."

"Don't you want to finish unpacking?" Asked Ronon. 

John looked down at his forgotten duffel. He opened up the trunk at the foot of his bed, upturned his duffel over it so everything tumbled out, and then shut the trunk again. 

"Done," he said, standing up again. 

Ronon grinned. "That's exactly how I unpacked," he said. 

John chuckled and followed him out of the cabin – the door didn't have a lock, so John was glad he'd followed the instructions and not bought anything valuable with him. Rodney on the other hand… 

"Hey Ronon – you know anyone else at camp?" John asked. 

"Nope," said Ronon. "Why, do you?"

"Yeah," said John. "A few people, actually. But you'll meet Rodney any second – let me warn you now, he _will _say something to offend you, but he's alright really." 

Ronon looked a little confused, but shrugged and nodded. And not a moment too soon. 

"I'm going to _kill _you!" 

John gave Ronon a rueful smile and turned to see Rodney hurrying towards them. He looked livid. 

"Not only am I stuck here for two damn months because of _you_, but I'm living in a cabin with no facilities or even _a lock on the door_, without mosquito nets,with a stupid jock!" 

"Hello Rodney," said John calmly as his irate friend stopped in front of him. "This is Ronon."

"Hey."

Rodney barely spared him a glance. "I'm going to call my dad right now and tell him I'm coming home – I don't care what he says," said Rodney. "And when I see you again, Sheppard, you're going to wish you'd never been born."

And with that he turned on his heel and stormed off. "Later, Rodney!" John called out cheerfully. 

He turned to Ronon and rolled his eyes. "He won't leave, there's no way his dad'll let him," he said. 

"How is it your fault he's here?" Asked Ronon. 

John had the grace to look sheepish. "Ah, well, it kind of is… I spent like two hours telling his dad all about this place and how important the summer camp experience is for reforming wayward youths…"

"Is Rodney a wayward youth?" 

"His dad thinks so."

Ronon didn't question what he meant by that, and the two of them kept walking towards the hall. 

"So, who else do you know here?" Asked Ronon. 

John shrugged. "Rodney's sister Jeannie's here too, and, er, there's a couple of other girls from my school as well," he said. 

Unfortunately. 

_TBC – next we spend some time with the Lake Atlantis girls. _


	3. Dinner Announcements

Many thanks to johnandteylaforlife and gater who helped me with some names! 

Enjoy meeting the girls… 

_**Chapter Three – Dinner Announcements**_

"I could totally get used to this…"

Teyla Emmagen blinked and stared across the table at the girl who had spoken, Jennifer Keller. She was grinning, which was strange as she had just eaten a mouthful of treacle tart. 

Very tough, very _unpleasant_ treacle tart. 

Teyla looked to her right, at her roommate, Elizabeth Weir. Elizabeth was also staring at Jennifer in disbelief.

"Are you serious Jennifer?" Elizabeth asked. 

Jennifer looked confused at Elizabeth's tone. "What?" 

Teyla and Elizabeth exchanged a glance, eyebrows raised. "Jennifer, it's disgusting," said Teyla. 

"Really disgusting," agreed Elizabeth. 

"In fact, the only edible thing here was the fries," said Teyla. 

"I don't know, I thought the nuggets were okay," said Elizabeth. Teyla gave her a sardonic look. 

"Well, I like it," said Jennifer, shrugging. "I like overcooked things – I hate rare food." 

Kate Heightmayer, who was sitting next to Jennifer, spoke up. "That's fair enough," she said. "Everyone has different tastes." 

Teyla smiled slightly – she'd only met Kate half an hour ago, but already thought she was the most reasonable person in the world. She considered herself an understanding person, but Kate took it to a whole new level. 

"That's true," said Katie Brown, from the other side of Kate. 

And there was the _nicest _person Teyla had ever met. There was just no other way to describe Katie than _nice_. Except possibly _sweet_. 

Teyla was so glad she was sharing her cabin with Elizabeth, a normal person. She had met her that morning and they had hit it off right away, which Teyla was very glad of – she'd been kind of dreading having a roomie she hated. 

Jennifer chuckled. "Well thanks – I hope my eating habits don't gross you out too much," she said. "And I'd be happy to finish your treacle tart if you don't want it…"

Teyla grinned and pushed her plate towards Jennifer at the same time as the other three, and they all laughed together. 

The hall was noisy; filled with conversation and laughter as eighty girls aged 14 to 18 got to know one another over dried out chicken nuggets, fries and treacle tart. Teyla rested her chin on her hand and surveyed the room happily – everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, and she was too. She'd been looking forward to this summer for months, and was determined to make the most of it. 

"Can I have your attention please – settle down ladies…" 

The chief counsellor, Sam Carter, had stood up behind her table at the end of the hall, and she was smiling round at them. She was wearing a black Lake Atlantis t-shirt and her bright blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail. 

The noise in the hall quietened down and Sam's smile widened. "Okay… now that we're all fed, I have a couple of announcements," she said. "First off – uniforms. We're pretty relaxed about uniform here at Lake Atlantis, but everyone is given two t-shirts, a baseball cap and a jacket, which I urge you all to make use of. You can pick them up from here after breakfast tomorrow morning." 

Sam paused a moment to let the information sink in. "Next… those of you who've been here before will be able to tell the rest of you that every year the Lake Atlantis Girls' Camp plays against the Boys' Camp in a series of sporting events… and frequently hand their tails to them, I might add..." 

There was a ripple of laughter, and few whoops. Sam grinned. 

"Well, this year will be a little different," she said. "Every four years we team up with the boys and participate in a tournament against three other camps in the local area – Genii Lake, Wraith Fields and Osuran Falls. The tournament starts next week with soccer, and continues through the summer with a series of sporting and academic events. All the teams will be mixed, and on a completely voluntary basis, and anyone who wants to can join in, or not as they choose."

Sam paused again as everyone in the hall started talking excitedly about the tournament. Teyla, a huge sports fan, turned to look at Elizabeth with a huge grin. Elizabeth grinned back at her, the same excitement Teyla felt shining from her eyes. The two of them had already had a long talk about sports earlier that day, and so Teyla knew that even though Elizabeth wouldn't be planning to join any of the sports teams, her attention would have been piqued by the 'academic events' Sam mentioned. 

"Okay, okay..." Sam said, waving a hand to get everyone's attention again. "There's more detailed information about the tournament, including the dates of the events and how to sign up for them, on the notice board on the West side of this building, but the important thing to tell you about is the team leaders. Once the teams are finalised for each event, those teams elect a team captain from among themselves. But there are also two team leaders, one boy and one girl, who oversee all the teams and their involvement in the tournament. We'll be electing our team leader the day after tomorrow, so tomorrow when you're all going about your activities, try to bear the tournament in mind, and think of who you'd like to represent us girls." 

Sam sat back down again and the whole hall exploded with noise. 

"Oh my god this is going to be so much fun!" Exclaimed Jennifer, grinning from ear to ear. 

"It does sound good," agreed Elizabeth. "I wonder what kind of academic things there are…?" 

"Mathletics," said Kate, who had been at the camp the year before. "And spelling. And a general knowledge quiz." 

"Well I suck at math but the rest sound fun," Elizabeth said with a grin. 

Teyla leant forward eagerly. "What kind of sports is there?" She asked Kate.

"Loads," she answered. "Soccer, football, tennis, badminton, swimming, rowing, archery, running, baseball, basketball…dozens of things." 

Teyla felt the excitement bubbling inside of her. "This is wonderful – I was really looking forward to the sports here anyway, but now that there's a tournament it's even better!" She exclaimed. 

"Katie! Are you going to sign up for tennis?" A girl with long, curly blonde hair came running over to their table and up to Katie, who grinned up at her. 

"Absolutely, do you want to partners?" She answered. 

"Yeah! Wow, this is awesome!"

Katie laughed. "And you didn't even want to come!" 

The girl rolled her eyes. "Stupid Mer and his big mouth," she said. 

Katie's grin vanished and Teyla noticed the new girl's eyes widen with regret. Katie turned back to the group and gave them a smile which didn't quite reach her eyes. "This is Jeannie McKay, we go to school together," she said. 

Jeannie grinned round at everyone. "Hi!" She said brightly. 

They all returned her greeting and introduced themselves, and Jeannie squeezed in next to Katie and joined in their conversation about the tournament. 

"So, do you guys know anyone else here?" Elizabeth asked Katie and Jeannie after a while. 

They both nodded. "Yeah, there's a couple of other girls from our school here too – Nancy Innes… she's over by the wall there, with the long brown hair – and Chaya Proculus… er, she was around earlier but I don't know where she's gone now," said Katie. 

"And my brother Meredith is here –"

"_Meredith_?" Said Jennifer and Elizabeth incredulously. Jeannie grinned. 

"Yeah, he goes by Rodney, but that's only his middle name… I call him Mer…" she glanced at Katie, who was looking sombre again, "… and his friend John Sheppard is here too." 

"Wow, that's quite a contingent," said Kate. "Most people don't know anyone."

"Teyla has friends here," said Elizabeth. 

Teyla nodded, smiling. "Yes, my younger cousin Jinto is here, and my friend Kanaan," she said. 

"Those are unusual names," commented Katie, and Teyla shrugged. 

"That's a nice thing about the tournament I guess," mused Kate. "You'll be able to see your friends and relatives at the boys' camp." 

"I'm certainly not complaining that we have to spend more time with the boys!" Jennifer said, grinning. They all laughed in response. 

"I just hope none of them get annoyed about it being mixed teams," said Elizabeth. 

"That's true – some guys can get really pissy about playing with girls," said Jennifer. 

Kate shook her head. "I'm sure it won't be that bad," she said. "The counsellors wouldn't let them get away with that kind of attitude." 

"Besides," said Teyla with a sly grin. "If I have to teach a few boys who's boss on the football field, I will." 

_TBC – Up next, the boys bond over some__ 'friendly' sports. _


	4. Picking Teams

Thanks for the reviews for the first few chapters… everyone seemed to like meeting the girls, and now we spend a little more quality time with the boys

Thanks for the reviews for the first few chapters… everyone seemed to like meeting the girls, and now we spend a little more quality time with the boys.

This chapter is dedicated to **Oaktown Fangirl** for the really lovely PM she sent me – it just goes to show, flattery gets you anywhere with me. :-P

Right, well, enjoy – hopefully the next chapter will be up quicker than this one… and will be less painful to write!!

_**Chapter Four – Picking Teams**_

"Okay… how we gonna do this?" John said, looking round at the large group of boys gathered on the soccer field. "I mean, it's not like we can pick teams…"

"Why not?" Demanded Bates. John didn't know his first name – it was how he'd introduced himself, and everyone called him that.

"Picking teams is the easiest way of splitting everyone up," agreed Marshall Sumner, Bates' roommate. He sported a crewcut and an almost permanent scowl, and John had a very strong feeling that he didn't like him. What Marshall didn't know, though, was that when someone didn't like him, John treated them like they were his best pal, just to annoy them.

"We don't know each other yet," John said cheerily, shrugging at Marshall. "We don't know how we play."

Marshall folded his arms and his scowl deepened. "Alright, what do _you _suggest then, Sheppard?" He asked coldly.

John grinned. "Aw, Marsh, you can call me John," he said jauntily. Marshall's expression hardened, and John ploughed on before he could reply. "How about this –" He raised his voice. "Everyone who's born January through June go stand over _there_," he pointed to his left, "and everyone born July through December stand over _there_."

The crowd of boys looked a bit confused but they all followed John's suggestion and split up. John quirked an eyebrow at Marshall and Bates, who both scowled at him for a second before going to join the July to December group.

John did a quick head count – there were 19 January to Junes, and 21 July to Decembers. "Well that worked better than I thought it would," he said with a grin. "I'll join the January to Junes and then we're even – there's nothing like a little twenty-a-side, right?"

There was a ripple of laughter through the two teams, but Marshall shook his head. "_Twenty-a-side_?" He said incredulously. "Do you know _nothing _about soccer?"

John grinned, refusing to let the guy get to him. "It's not really my thing – I'm more of a football kind of guy," he said.

"Basketball for me," said Ronon, who was standing just behind John.

"I like fishing," said Carson Beckett, a Scottish guy John had met at dinner the night before.

Marshall rolled his eyes. "Well, why don't you sit the game out then?" He asked.

John gave him an exaggerated quizzical look. "But then the teams wouldn't be even…" he said.

"Oh come on, let's just get on with it," exclaimed Rodney impatiently. John's grin was genuine this time – he knew for a fact that Rodney didn't want to start the game because he was eager to play; he wanted to start the game to get it over with. The only reason he was here at all was because his roommate, Evan Lorne, had goaded him into playing.

Evan spoke up now. "Rodney's right – who cares if it's twenty-a-side, it's only a friendly," he said. He was holding a soccer ball, and tossed it from hand to hand. "Let's play."

So they did. It was fast and furious, with ten guys going for the ball at any given time, and John hung back from the thick of the action. Like he had said, soccer wasn't his sport. He just didn't really see the point of it.

A few of the other guys, though, were obviously really into the sport. Evan and Bates were good, and so was the little Czech guy, Radek Zelenka. Carson was a good shot but didn't really go out of the way to get the ball. There was a young kid, Aiden Ford, who was zipping around the pitch like the roadrunner… he was _fast_. And Marshall Sumner… well, _wow_, was all John could really think. He didn't know much about soccer, but he was positive that the guy was good enough to go pro. And he wasn't the only one that noticed – every guy on the pitch just stood and gaped as he scored a double hat-trick of absolutely superb goals.

All in all, John was quite glad when the match was over and a lot of them decided to have a game of basketball before lunch. He was much, much better at basketball than soccer – but still, it wasn't really his game. He did enjoy it more, though. There were less people wanting to play basketball than soccer, but after the way John had organised the soccer match they all looked to him to organise this game as well. John didn't mind – he split the group into two teams of eleven, so it was still a huge game, but manageable.

Ronon was the undisputed star of the basketball court, something John did not find at all surprising given his size and agility. Marshall was playing too, and was very good at basketball as well – there was no denying the fact that he was an amazing sportsman.

After basketball came track – where Aiden Ford and Ronon both stunned everyone with their speed – and then they broke for lunch.

John walked over to the dining hall with Rodney and Ronon, and a gaggle of guys they'd been playing with.

"Are you not into track, John?" Asked Aiden Ford, who was at John's elbow. He was fourteen but looked about ten.

John gave him a grin. "Not really," he said. "Besides, I don't see what the point of me competing against you would be, Roadrunner."

Aiden grinned delightedly at the praise.

"So, football after lunch?" Said Evan Lorne, who was also walking with them.

"Hell yeah!" Said John with a grin.

"I'm up for it," said Ronon.

"Cool," said Aiden.

"Not a chance," said Rodney flatly.

John grinned as everyone chuckled. Rodney _hated _football. Well, playing it, anyway.

XXX

Rodney followed John and Ronon back to their cabin after lunch, muttering angrily about Marshall Sumner. The guy had been surrounded by a bevy of admirers all through lunch, and had obviously been lapping up the attention. John had found it amusing; Rodney thought it was sick.

"He's an example of everything that's wrong with this country!" Rodney said, slamming the door behind him. "He's an arrogant jerk, but everyone's fawning over him because he can kick a ball."

"And things are so different in Canada, eh?" Said John with a grin. Rodney glared at him for the 'eh', but it wasn't heartfelt. He was used to John's jibes about Canada by now.

"Alright, _fine_¸ the whole continent's messed up!" Said Rodney petulantly. He sat down on John's bed without asking and scowled at the opposite wall. "He's gonna get leader," he said. "It's gonna be awful."

Everything suddenly became clear to John. "You wanna be leader," he said, smirking over at Ronon.

Rodney turned his scowl on John. "I'd be better than that pinhead, anyway!" He retorted.

John made a face like he didn't agree, just to rile Rodney up. It worked – but before Rodney could respond, Ronon cut in.

"You would," he said. John and Rodney looked at him in surprise and he shrugged. "I don't like him," he said simply.

"What's not to like?" John quipped. He shrugged and went and sat down next to Rodney. "It doesn't matter anyway – Rodney's right, he'll probably get voted in – "

"Unless you do," said Rodney.

John blinked. "What?"

"Well, it's between you and Sumner…"

"It is _not_," protested John.

"Well yeah," said Ronon, shrugging again. "That's why you've been acting so… you know, _nice _to everyone, right?"

John frowned. "What?"

"No, that's just what he's like," said Rodney to Ronon. "Sickening, isn't it?"

Ronon snorted with laughter and nodded. John was totally at sea. "What are you guys talking about?" He demanded.

"Well, the way you took charge of everything, arranging the games," said Ronon.

"Well someone had to – "

"And how you were so nice to Ford and the other younger kids," said Ronon.

"Why wouldn't I be nice – "

"And I saw you giving Carson and that other kid basketball pointers…" said Ronon.

"They don't really have basketball in Britain – "

"And you…"

"Hold on!" John interrupted finally. "Are you saying I'm in the running?"

Ronon and Rodney grinned at him. "We're saying it's between you and Sumner," said Rodney.

John was silent for a moment, before flopping back on the bed until he was lying across it, his head propped up against the wall. "Well," he said thoughtfully. "That _sucks_."

XXX

And it did suck, big time. It turned out Ronon and Rodney were totally right – the vote was between John and Marshall Sumner, and the tension between the two was palpable. Sumner spent the entire afternoon and dinnertime glaring at John, who by the time the vote came round was too tired of it even to smirk back at him.

It was a secret ballot, but everyone was telling everyone who they had voted for, and the names 'Marshall' and 'John' were flying through the air. John winced every time someone came back from voting and patted him on the back, grinning. When the time came, he voted for Rodney, though he would take _that _fact to the grave.

Steve and Abe took a long time to count the votes – ages in fact. It was almost midnight before they were done, and after a whole day of sports, John was more than ready to just get to bed. They were all gathered in the dining hall, talking, playing board games, dozing off… but everyone woke up and shut up when the two counsellors came back into the room.

Abe stood at the front of the hall and nodded to them all. "Okay… well, this year's vote has been the closest in living memory," he said. "There were two main contenders – one took forty-one percent of the vote, and the other forty-three. Such a result was completely unheard of before today."

Everyone in the room seemed to sit up a little straighter.

"Consequently, we are changing the rules slightly," continued Abe. "Usually the elected leader appoints a second to help them with their duties, but due to the closeness of the vote we've decided to appoint the runner-up as the leader's second, straight up."

John bit back a groan. This meant that, whatever had happened, he was going to have to spend the summer working closely with Marshall Sumner.

"The two leaders in the vote," said Abe, "were John Sheppard and Marshall Sumner."

There was no response – everyone knew that already. They wanted the proper news.

Abe grinned. "Your new leader…will be Marshall!"

The room was suddenly filled to the rafters with cheers, boos and a cacophony of other loud noises as its inhabitants all celebrated or commiserated in their own way. John shook every hand that was offered to him and forced out a smile as he answered the guys telling him that they had voted for him.

He wasn't disappointed that he hadn't got it. Really – he hadn't _wanted _it. But he also hadn't wanted to be Marshall Sumner's number two.

John looked across the hall to where Marshall was sitting next to Bates, who was looking a little subdued for someone whose bunkmate had just been elected leader. John guessed that it was because he wouldn't be named Second.

Marshall looked over at John and narrowed his eyes at him – John managed to send a cheeky smirk his way, which made him scowl, but it was a hollow victory to John.

This was going to be a _long _summer…

XXX

"I can't believe you did that to me!" Exclaimed Elizabeth as she and Teyla walked into their cabin.

Teyla blinked innocently at her. "Did what?" She asked sweetly. Elizabeth glared at her, and Teyla rolled her eyes, dropping her ignorant act.

"You will be a _wonderful _co-leader, Elizabeth," she said sincerely, sitting down on her bed.

Elizabeth sat down on her own bed, facing Teyla, and her glare lessened slightly. "Well, thank you," she said. "But… but I'm not at all qualified. I don't really do sports. It should be you."

Teyla shook her head emphatically. "No, it should not," she said. "There is more to being leader than just playing sports. You will be able to organise things, and deal with crises, and talk to the other teams…"

"Oh, like you wouldn't?" Elizabeth protested. "You know you could do that too, Teyla. You have the patience of a saint."

Teyla grinned mischievously. "Not when I'm competing," she said. "I get _very _competitive."

Elizabeth cocked an eyebrow at her. "Really?"

Teyla nodded. "Absolutely," she said. "Especially against Wraith fields – I know several of the people who are there this summer, and I want to _destroy _them."

Elizabeth chuckled. "Wow, trash talk from Teyla Emmagen," she teased. "Ex-boyfriends?"

Teyla laughed. "In no way shape or form," she assured her. "But I detest them. They play dirty." She sighed. "You will soon see for yourself."

Elizabeth didn't ask Teyla to elaborate, for which she was glad. She got back to the point of the conversation. "Anyway, since I plan to play in so many of the teams, I would find it hard to do all the organisation," she said.

"Yeah right," said Elizabeth sarcastically.

Teyla shrugged. "The people have spoken, Elizabeth," she said, grinning.

Elizabeth's glare was back. "Only because you took yourself out of the running!" She replied.

Teyla shook her head. "You would have won," she assured her. And she was being completely truthful – Teyla had had her supporters at the vote, but it had been obvious that most of the people in the room were more appreciative of Elizabeth's cool head, administrative skills and kindness.

Elizabeth shook her head but didn't bother to disagree. It was a pointless argument anyway – Elizabeth was the leader.

"I hope you know you're not getting out of it," said Elizabeth as she got up to get ready for bed. "I'm appointing you my number two."

Teyla grinned. "That I can handle," she said.

_**TBC – Next, the girls and boys come face to face…**_


End file.
